Funny Story on My Dairy Free Eating

February is Gluten-Free Dairy-Free.

It required some special ordering at dinner, but otherwise quite easy...since I'm not at home making blender drinks with whey protein.

Why dairy free?

I have Reynaud's disease...two of my fingers on my right hand swell up in the cold. It's really funky...they look like sausages if I'm in Canada for weeks at a time in the winter and walking the dog a lot. Dr. Peter Osborne said to try going dairy-free.

Funny story...before I knew what the medical condition was, I thought the fingers were infected, so I was icing them everyday over Christmas. That made them much, much worse! They were almost twice the size as normal. Then I went to the doctor, and he took one look at them and diagnosed me. Now that I'm in Florida for a few days, they are normal.

Friday's meals were...

16 hour fast ended at 10am with an apple and 2oz almonds

lunch - chicken, pork, salad, and roast vegetables at hotel

snack - 2oz roasted almonds dried fruit

dinner at park shore grill or park side grill in St. Petes (can't remember the name).

tuna tartar, salad with pecans and cranberries (no dressing or blue cheese), chicken breast with mixed vegetables, and mixed berries (no cream) for dessert.

In celebration with my friends, I also had 2 black russians, one with Ciroq vodka (made from grapes) and one with Chopin (made from potato). Most vodkas are made with wheat and are not gluten free.

Hung out with Bedros Keuilian, Yuri Elkaim, Shawna Kaminski, and my long-time bud, John Romaniello. John will be releasing his first print book in 2013 and he'll be on the NY Times list for sure. Watch for his name!

Dinner ended around 9:30pm last night, and since I plan on doing the 16-8 fast plan for a few days, I won't eat until after my workout with Jay Ferruggia later this morning.

Before then I'll have an Athletic Greens drink and perhaps a Green Tea from Starbucks.

We're hitting powerhouse gym in Tampa around 11am.

Cool side note...I also got to meet a guy that owned a Superbowl ring (from 1983 Washington Redskins, Ken Hoffman). We had a great conversation about what makes a great coach (passion and the ability to inspire people to do their jobs - much like you inspire people to transform with your passion!)

Today's Kickbutt Mindset Tips:
Here's something that's hard to accept, but once you do, you'll be better off for it. One of the biggest factors in how stressed you get is your decision to be stressed by your circumstances. The truth is you don't have to let things bother you as much as they do.

So much can be accomplished with a long term vision and resilience to short term setbacks. Not every problem is conquered overnight, but if you persist and never give in, you will succeed.

Stay Strong,

Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer